Compare and Contrast each rhetorical situations

Step 1. Find a popular media or trade publication article (print or online) focused on a topic pertaining to your academic discipline.

Step 2. Read the article and identify any possible keywords from it you can use to search for an academic journal article about the same topic. *Consult with your instructor if you think you need to find an academic journal article on a related topic because you are unable to find one about the same topic.

Step 3. Use the library resources, such as your subject guide, to find an academic journal article about the same topic as your popular media or trade publication article. Select an article published recently (within the last 5 years preferably, but no more than the last 10 years); you want to be aware of what your academic discipline is researching and writing about now.

Step 4. Read the academic journal article and popular media or trade publication article you selected in Step 1, analyzing them for rhetorical situation and style.

Step 5. Draft your essay, comparing and contrasting your two articles in terms of their purpose, content, and style. Refer to the handout “Article Analysis Guide” for detailed information about how to draft your essay.